Category: Scotland

As a Chinese living abroad, finding genuine Asian food that I remember from growing up in Hong Kong isn’t all that easy. The reason being no matter what country you live in, when you want to try and eat food from other countries, the restaurants and takeaway shops usually tailor recipes and only offer dishes that the population in that specific country prefer. For example, in Edinburgh I’ve noticed sweet and sour dishes I used to order sometimes were bright fluorescent orange and smell of vinegar with battered pieces of meat and a lot of dishes contain really strong flavours of fruit, so much so you can’t really taste what it is you’ve ordered. This isn’t really something you see often in Hong Kong.

One place that has been a real hidden gem is wee buddha on Jamaica Street. With a separate vegan menu offering Asian food, I was excited to see what they had to offer.

David Bann on St Mary’s Street (just off Cowgate and near Scottish Parliament) will always hold a special place in my heart. It was the restaurant the OH brought me to for our first Chinese New Year’s celebration together and we revisited the restaurant again for Chinese New Year this year. On the day of Chinese/Lunar New Year, Chinese people give the animals a day of rest from slaughter and choose to eat vegetarian for one day. I’m happy to say I no longer hold onto any guilt for only giving them one additional day and having that reprieve shortly taken away when the workers return the next day for work. I’m pleased to say that being vegan means giving more animals a chance to be free from pain and suffering, 365 days a year.

Updated: It is with great regret that The Caffeine Drip announced yesterday they will now be closed.

If you’ve ever had a dish that you thought you couldn’t live without as a non-vegan, I guarantee someone else has come up with a vegan alternative recipe that tastes just as good, if not better, than the dish you remember. For a while, I’d been thinking about making my own French toast at home, I even pinned several recipes to try, but when I found out The Caffeine Drip served French toast, I was more than happy to give this South African cafe/bakery a go.

If there was a way to create your own bowl of noodles, in such a way that means even vegans can enjoy it without the restaurant making any changes, would that be fantastic? Say no more, Red Box Noodle Bar on West Nicholson Street has you covered.

Looking to the markets of Mexico for inspiration, wahaca was born from our love of fresh, honest, Mexican market food.

– Thomasina Miers, Co-founder Wahaca

It wasn’t that long ago, maybe a matter of months, that I read a notice about the exciting introduction of vegan options at Wahaca. I’ve passed by the bright fluorescent neon pink light of their logo at St Andrew’s Square in Edinburgh, but never knew what they had to offer.

Chain Mexican street food restaurant Wahaca offers a seasonal menu using fresh local as much as possible to recreate flavours from Mexico. With a South American vibe in decor, it’s hard not to feel happy and groovy when dining here.

TO coincide with Veganuary last month (the charity awareness month for veganism in the month of January), British multinational supermarket Tesco launched their range of vegan ready meals and wraps/sandwiches about a month ago (see here). Together with their Executive Chef and Director of Plant-Based Innovation, and Veganuary Ambassador, Derek Sarno, vegans around the UK flocked to their nearest Tesco store to try and get their hands on the Wicked Kitchen products.

Unless it’s one of the restaurants or places people talk about in your local area, you might not even be aware that vegan options are available in certain places. Woodland Creatures on Leith Walk was one of these establishments that I was blissfully unaware of until I discovered it on the Vegan Edinburgh site when I was looking for somewhere to meet a friend.

Travelling when you’re vegan can sometimes mean doing some research to find out what’s good to eat where you’re going, and if you’re not familiar with the area, maybe getting in touch with restaurants and hotels to ask about vegan options in advance. One of the best things about having friends living in other areas is making sure they already know about your lifestyle choice and letting them take the lead. In this case, a very good family friend of mine had been to The Cran in Finnieston (planting seeds as I go along!) and kept that in mind as a place to visit when I was next in the area. Continue reading “Exploring vegan food in Finnieston: review of The Cran”→